Five men accused of holding man down and branding him with the word ‘rat’ on his face

Tom Tuite

Five men accused of attacking a man who was allegedly branded "RAT", beaten and held in a west Dublin house will stand trial in the Special Criminal Court.

Brothers Jason Hennessy Jr (28), Devon Hennessy (29) and 22-year-old Brandon Hennessy of Sheephill Avenue, Kenneth Fitzsimons (45) and his 24-year-old son, Dean Fitzsimons, of Castlecurragh Vale, Dublin 15, were remanded in custody earlier in connection with an incident on February 12th at the Hennessys' home.

They were initially charged with various offences, including causing serious harm to the alleged victim and falsely imprisoning him, as well as producing an article during a dispute.

Later, gardaí charged them with additional serious offences under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, "for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit a serious offence."

The five appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill District Court on Tuesday.

Judge Mitchell noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed trial on indictment.

Furthermore, a State solicitor informed Judge Mitchell that the DPP authorised the five men to be sent forward for trial to the non-jury Special Criminal Court, mainly used for terrorism and organised crime cases.

Gardaí served them with books of evidence.

The DPP drafted a certificate under section 46.2 of the Offences Against the State Act that, in this case, "the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice".

It was furnished to the judge, who granted the return for trial order, to the venue sought by the DPP; however, a date for their appearance at the three-judge court, in the Criminal Courts of Justice, has yet to be set.

The defendants have not indicated pleas and were remanded in continuing custody. Copies of video evidence are to be handed over to their solicitor, Simon Fleming, who applied for legal aid.

The judge warned the men to notify the prosecution if they intended to adduce alibi evidence in their defence.

Legal aid was granted to include continued representation of Mr Fleming, along with a barrister and senior counsel for each defendant.

Brandon Hennessy is charged with knowingly "holding down" the man while "RAT" was branded onto his face and torso.

Jason Hennessy and Dean Fitzsimons have charges alleging that their role was "branding the word RAT to the face and torso" of the man.

Kenneth Fitzsimons and Devon Hennessy are accused of assaulting the man "in preparation for branding the word RAT onto his face and torso".

It is alleged that when the five men committed the offences outlined, they were "participating in an activity of the organisation".